This invention relates in general to techniques for protecting a hard disk drive mechanism from mechanical shock and, more particularly, to techniques for protecting a hard disk drive mechanism from mechanical shock when the mechanism is disposed in a removable data storage cartridge.
Computer technology has evolved very rapidly over the past twenty-five years. One aspect of this evolution has been a progressively increasing demand for progressively more storage capacity in removable data storage cartridges. For example, floppy disks capable of storing approximately 360 KB of data gave way to floppy disks capable of storing 720 KB, which in turn gave way floppy disks capable of storing approximately 1.44 MB of data.
Thereafter, removable data storage cartridges with still higher storage capacities became commercially available, for example in the form of cartridges available under the tradename ZIP from Iomega Corporation of Roy, Utah, which is the assignee of the present application. ZIP cartridges provide data storage capacities on the order of 100 MB to 250 MB. Still another significant increase in storage capacity was subsequently realized when Iomega introduced removable cartridges under the tradename JAZ, which has storage capacities on the order of 1 GB to 2 GB. Nevertheless, the demand for still greater storage capacity in removable cartridges continues to progressively increase, such that there is a current demand for cartridges capable of storing 5 GB to 20 GB, or even more.
One approach to such a high-capacity cartridge involves the use within the cartridge of a high-capacity hard disk drive mechanism. There are pre-existing removable cartridges which include a sealed hard disk drive mechanism. Such a hard disk drive mechanism typically includes a sealed housing containing not only a rotatable storage medium in the form of a hard disk, but also a motor for rotating the disk, at least one read/write head, and a mechanism for effecting movement of the read/write head relative to and adjacent the disk. While these pre-existing cartridges have been generally adequate for their intended purposes, they have not been satisfactory in all respects.
In this regard, hard disk drive mechanisms are very sensitive to vibration and mechanical shock, and this sensitivity is particularly acute in high-capacity hard disk drive mechanisms. When such a hard disk drive mechanism is incorporated into a removable cartridge, and since a cartridge of this type can be easily dropped whenever it is not inserted into a drive, there is a high potential for significant mechanical shock or vibration that can damage either the read/write head and/or the rotatable disk of the hard disk drive mechanism.
A further consideration is that, in order for any removable data storage cartridge to have a high degree of commercial success, it must be possible to sell it at a relatively low price, which in turn means that it must be possible to fabricate it at a relatively low price. Consequently, any type of structure provided in the cartridge to offer protection from shocks must be relatively inexpensive, one aspect of which is that there must be an efficient and inexpensive way to manufacture that structure.
From the foregoing it may be appreciated that a need has arisen for a technique that provides a data storage mechanism in a removable cartridge with a high level of protection from shock and vibration. According to the present invention, a method and apparatus are provided to address this need, and involve: providing a data storage portion within an inner housing, the inner housing having first and second surface portions on opposite sides of the exterior thereof and having a side surface portion which extends between peripheral edges of the first and second surface portions; locating the inner housing in a chamber within an outer housing; transporting signals that include data between the data storage section and a location external to the outer housing; and resiliently supporting the inner housing within the chamber using a plurality of resilient elements disposed within the chamber. This resilient support of the inner housing involves: positioning the resilient elements at spaced locations along a periphery of the inner housing; configuring each of the resilient elements to include first and second outer portions which are coupled to opposite sides of a center portion; causing the center portion to engage the side surface portion of the inner housing and the first and second outer portions to respectively engage the first and second surface portions of the inner housing; selecting for the center portion a material having a first compression characteristic; selecting for the first outer portion a material having a second compression characteristic different from the first compression characteristic; and selecting for the second outer portion a material having a third compression characteristic different from the first compression characteristic.
It will also be appreciated that, as to structure which provides shock and vibration protection for an inner housing disposed within an outer housing, there is a need for a technique to efficiently and inexpensively fabricate this protective structure. According to a different form of the present invention, a method is provided to address this need, and involves: cutting from a first sheet of resilient material a center part having a plurality of arms projecting outwardly in respective different directions; cutting from a second sheet of resilient material a first outer part; cutting from a third sheet of resilient material a second outer part; adhesively securing the first and second outer parts to opposite sides of the center part to form an assembly, each of the outer parts having portions which project outwardly beyond the center part in the region between each adjacent pair of the arms thereof; cutting the assembly along a plurality of cutting planes to subdivide the assembly into a plurality of resilient elements, the cutting planes each being perpendicular to the planes of lamination between the outer parts and the center part, and each being oriented so that each of the arms of the center part is split in a lengthwise direction into two portions of approximately equal width; and using a set of the resilient elements to resiliently support an inner housing within an outer housing, the resilient elements of the set being disposed at spaced locations along a periphery of the inner housing.